Sora's Story
by The Sneak
Summary: A closer look at Sora and Taichi's relationship...
1. How It All Started

I'll never forget the first time I saw him.

It was a Sunday afternoon, and I was playing alone in the park near my apartment. My mom was sitting on one of the park benches, reading a book and keeping a careful eye on me. Even now, I can remember how annoyed I was about what I felt was 'unnecessary overprotectiveness.' After all, I was five years old and could 'take care of myself;' I guess all five-year-olds think like that.

We had just moved to Highton View Terrace a few weeks ago, and school hadn't started yet, so I hadn't made any friends yet. I was sitting on a swing all by myself, staring at the ground and wishing I had someone to play with, when a black-and-white ball rolled to a stop at my feet. I stared at it for a second, then slowly looked up and saw _him_. He had warm, happy brown eyes that were several shades darker than mine; his brown hair tufted out crazily, which only seemed to make him cuter, and he wore a pair of goggles around his neck: he was the cutest boy I'd ever seen.

He ran over to me and picked up his ball. "Sorry," he apologized.

"That's okay," I replied, trying not to blush.

Suddenly the boy smiled at me. Even then, my heart did a flip. "Hey, I have an idea!" the boy said excitedly. "You can play soccer with me! Do you want to?"

Did I ever! There was only one small problem . . .

"Sure," I agreed eagerly, then hesitated. "But I don't know how to play."

"I'll teach you myself!" the boy stated proudly.

I hopped off my swing. "Then let's do it!"

After explaining some of the basics--like not using your hands--he showed me how to dribble, and also how to shoot correctly, kicking with your laces, not your toe. I got the hang of it very quickly; I could tell that the boy--his name was Tai--was impressed.

"You're a natural!" he told me after I had dribbled around him and scored for the third time. I blushed at his praise, and I really was enjoying myself. This game was fun!

Tai and I played soccer together almost every afternoon all the rest of the summer. The day before I was to start kindergarten, we played until the sun was low on the horizon and the shadows grew long and dark. Soon a lady holding a little toddler in one arm and a bag of groceries in the other came walking down one of the park's paths. "Tai!" she called, a little impatiently. "Taichi Kamiya! It's time to go home!"

Tai was in the middle of demonstrating a trick shooting move. "Just five more minutes, Mom!"

Tai's mom put down her groceries on a bench not far from my mother's. "Sorry sweetie, but we need to go home now. You've got a big day tomorrow--it's your first day of school!"

Tai picked up his soccer ball, then said to me, "Come on! You can meet my mom and sister!" He took my hand and led me over to the path. I followed a little reluctantly, feeling shy around his mom.

"Hi, sweetie! Did you have a good time?" she asked him.

"Yeah, it was great! Mom, I want you to meet my friend. She likes soccer, too, and I've been teaching her how to play!"

Tai's mom smiled down at me with a twinkle in her eye. "Hi there. Are you here all alone?"

"No, ma'am. My mother's over there." I pointed her out to Tai's mom.

"Well, I can see that you've already met Tai. I'm Mrs. Kamiya, and this—" she indicated the toddler she still held—"is Kari, Tai's little sister."

The little girl was _sooo_ cute! She looked a lot like Tai, except she was a younger, prettier, more delicate female version of him. She looked down at me for a moment with big, brown eyes, then smiled at me, though it was almost hidden by her pacifier. I smiled back, and I was about to ask how old she was when Mrs. Kamiya asked me a question instead: "What's your name, honey?"

"Oh, I'm sorry," I apologized, a little embarrassed at forgetting to introduce myself. "My name's Sora. Sora Takenouchi. My mom works in the flower shop a couple blocks from here."

"Well, Sora, we'd better be going. I have to get Kari to bed soon. She didn't get her nap today, so she's a little tired." This was true: the little girl's eyes were drooping even as her mother spoke. I would have bet that she'd be asleep before they got home. "Goodbye, Sora," Mrs. Kamiya took Tai's hand firmly and started down the path again.

Tai looked over his shoulder at me. "See ya!" he called.

"Bye!" I waved until they were out of sight, then sighed contentedly. He was so cute, and so friendly. I wondered if I would ever see him again. But when I turned around, I knew I had to find him again—_quickly_: his mom had left her bag of groceries on the park bench.

I stood frozen in place for a moment, thinking fast, then I made a snap decision. "Mom?" I said suddenly. She didn't even look up from the herb book she was reading.

"Yes, Sora?"

"Do you know someone named Mrs. Kamiya? She has two kids, one about my age and another a couple years younger."

Now she did look up at me. "Why, yes, I do. They live in the apartment building right next to the flower shop I work in. Why?"

This was all I needed to know. Ignoring my mom's question, I rushed over, grabbed the bag of groceries, and took off down the path heading for the flower shop and Tai's building.

"Wait!" I heard my mother call after me. "Sora! Where are you going?"

"To—to the flower shop! I have to run a quick errand!" I called over my shoulder without stopping. I bit my tongue, angry with myself for lying, but I didn't want my mom tagging along. "I'll meet you at home!" _Sorry, Mom. I'll make it up to you somehow._ Ignoring my mom's continued shouts, I sprinted down the path.

I found Tai's apartment building with no trouble at all; it really _was_ right next to the flower shop. I hesitated for a moment, then went inside and approached the front desk.

"Excuse me," I said to the lady at the desk. "Can you tell me the apartment number for a 'Tai Kamiya'?"

The lady typed on her computer for a few minutes as I fidgeted nervously. "Well," she finally said, " We _do_ have a Kamiya family in apartment 1403, but I don't see record of any 'Tai'—"

By the time the lady looked up from her computer screen, I was already in the elevator.

When I reached apartment 1403, I knocked softly, then stood there anxiously. In a few seconds, the door swung open, and there stood Tai.

"Hi," he said, looking a little surprised to see me.

"Who is it, Tai?" I heard his mom ask from inside.

"It's Sora, Mom. The girl from the park," Tai called over his shoulder.

"Well then, ask her in, dear. Don't leave her standing outside."

Tai turned back to me. "You . . . wanna come in?" he asked, and I almost thought I saw him blush a little.

"That's okay. I have to hurry home." Suddenly remembering the bag in my hands, I shoved it at Tai. "Here. Your mom left this at the park." He took the bag, looked at it, then looked back at me.

"Thanks," he said.

"Well . . . I'd better go. My mom gets worried if I'm away too long. See you later." I turned and slowly started to walk back towards the elevator.

"Sora!" a voice behind me called: Tai's voice. I turned and saw that he was standing in the hall outside his apartment. "Do you want to come over tomorrow? I just got a cool new video game we can play," he said.

I felt a smile spread across my face. "Sure!" I said happily. "I'll come over right after school, okay?"

"Great!" he exclaimed excitedly.

_"Tai Kamiya, what have I told you about leaving that door open?"_

He zipped back into his apartment and obediently closed the door. Suddenly it opened again and Tai stuck his head out. "Bye!" he said quickly, then shut the door again.

I smiled to myself. I had a feeling that Tai and I would become good friends.

My mother, however, wasn't so happy about my behavior that day.

I figured _that_ out as soon as I got home, but she didn't say anything about it until my dad got home, too, and we were all seated around the supper table. We were halfway done with our meal when I asked if I could play at Tai's house the next day after school. My dad smiled and said, "Sure, Cupcake! Have fun!" Then he chuckled, "The boys like you already! Don't give him any mercy when you play him in those video games!"

I laughed, too. "I don't know, Dad! I _might_ have to let him win at _something_. After all, I beat him at soccer today and I'm still just learning!" My dad laughed again, but my mother suddenly put down her fork.

"Sora," she said, and I heard the displeasure in her voice. "Why did you disobey me like that today? I've told you so many times not to leave my sight when we're outside. And you didn't go to the flower shop at all! I was so worried! Where were you? What did you think you were doing?"

"Mom!" I protested, "That lady, Mrs. Kamiya, she left her groceries on that bench. I had to take them to her!"

"Sora, I could have gone with you!"

_But I didn't _want _you to come with me!_ I wanted to say, but I bit the words back, knowing they would only get me in deeper trouble.

My dad, who had been silent until now, swallowed his current mouthful and said to my mother, "Dear, it sounds to me like she was just being friendly and doing a good deed. It's nothing to get so upset over. Besides, you've been friends with Mrs. Kamiya for years."

"Yes, but Sora didn't know Mrs. Kamiya until a few hours ago! And what if something had happened to her while she was delivering the bag?"

"Dear, you're overreacting—"

"No, I'm not! It's too dangerous these days for Sora to go anywhere by herself. She's too young, and besides, she's a _girl!_"

I had taken all of this I could stand. I pushed away my half-eaten supper and headed to my room.

"Sora?" my mother queried. "Where are you going?"

My back to her, I allowed myself to grimace. _Even at home she always has to know _exactly_ where I am and what I'm doing!_ "I'm . . . not very hungry. I think I'll go to bed early tonight. I have school tomorrow, remember?"

"Sora—" she started, then stopped. "Goodnight, Sora," she finally said.

The next day my mother took me to my first day of kindergarten at Westside Elementary. She had insisted that I wear a frilly pink-and-red dress. I was at the age where I hated dresses: I felt like I couldn't do anything in them. I surprised my mom by not fighting with her about the dress, but she wouldn't have been so surprised if she had known that I had shorts and a T-shirt stashed in my backpack.

She walked me to my classroom, then knelt to tell me goodbye. "I'll see you after school, Sora."

"But Mom . . . I'm going to Tai's, remember?"

She suddenly stood, a slight frown temporarily creasing her face, but it was gone in an instant. "Fine, Sora. But be home in time for supper, all right?"

"Thanks, Mom!" I said, feeling relieved that she had let me go. "Bye!"

I watched her walk down the hallway, then found the nearest bathroom and changed into my more comfortable clothes. Then I headed back to my classroom.

Inside was chaos.

Kids, boys and girls alike, were throwing paper airplanes and shooting spitwads at each other. A group of girls, all dressed in frilly dresses like I had been, were sitting in a circle in the reading corner and having a tea party with their dolls. A couple kids were drawing on the board, a few more were playing "table tag"--jumping from desktop to desktop--and another small group of boys was playing a rough game of indoor soccer: the teacher was nowhere to be seen.

As I stood in the doorway, bewildered by the pandemonium, the soccer ball whizzed through the air, narrowly missing my head, then bounced out into the hallway. "Heads up!" a familiar voice said, and to my surprise Tai came running up to me.

"Tai? I didn't know you were in my class—"

"Hi, Sora! You wanna play with us? Where'd the ball go?" he asked me, talking a mile a minute.

I was about to reply when a deep voice behind me said, "It's right here."

I froze, then slowly turned to look behind me. There stood the biggest man I'd ever seen: he was well over six-and-a-half feet tall, and the prominent muscles in his arms bulged as he gripped Tai's soccer ball, which suddenly looked very small in the man's huge hands. The entire class stopped in the middle of whatever they were doing, staring open-mouthed at the giant of a man. The room got very quiet, and then our teacher—a small, willowy blonde—stepped into view. Knowing without a doubt that she had our attention, she smiled very big and said, "Good morning, class! My name is Miss Tanoshii, and this is my special friend Mr. Waru. Say 'hello' class."

"Hello, Mr. Waru," we said obediently.

"Mr. Waru doesn't like naughty children, but I told him that my class would be _very_ well-behaved." Miss Tanoshii raised an eyebrow at us. "_Isn't that right, class?_" she asked pointedly.

"Yes, ma'am!" None of us even considered arguing, not with Mr. Waru standing right there.

Miss Tanoshii moved toward her desk, and Mr. Waru sat in a chair beside her, still holding Tai's soccer ball. "All right, children. Take your seats." As we sat down, she proceeded to tell us about herself, the school, and how much we would all _love_ kindergarten.

As she was winding down, Mr. Waru cleared his throat. Miss Tanoshii nodded to him and he stood, moving to the front of the class. He held the ball up so we could all easily see it, then said in his voice of gravel, "Whose ball is this?"

There was absolute silence in the classroom for a moment, then Tai, who was sitting in the desk in front of me, raised a hand. "It's mine, Mr. Waru," he admitted quietly.

The huge man's gaze fastened on Tai, and for a long while Mr. Waru just stared at him, almost seeming to _weigh_ him. I saw Miss Tanoshii fidget nervously, and finally Mr. Waru spoke again. "What's your name?"

"Tai Kamiya, sir," Tai replied without hesitation.

"Mr. Kamiya, we shall discuss this after school. But for now, come and get your ball." Tai seemed to waver for a second, then slowly he rose to his feet and walked to the front of the room. He gingerly took his ball from Mr. Waru's expansive palm, then took a few rapid steps back. Mr. Waru gave Tai another piercing, measuring look, and Tai looked very small and somehow fragile next to the huge mountain of a man.

"You may take your seat," Mr. Waru said at last, waving a thick hand dismissively.

"Yes, sir." Tai bowed respectfully and turned to head back to his seat.

Before he had taken more than a few steps, however, Miss Tanoshii tried to break the somber mood. "Well now, are there any questions, class?"

Tai, still at the front of the room, turned back to face our teacher, a questioning look on his face.

Miss Tanoshii noticed his inquisitive glance. "Yes, Tai?"

"I was just wondering . . ." He hesitated.

"What, Tai?" Miss Tanoshii asked a little impatiently.

Tai looked up at Mr. Waru, then back at Miss Tanoshii. "Is he your boyfriend?"

Needless to say, Tai had to stay after school a little _longer_ than he had first thought, but he always claimed that it was worth seeing Miss Tanoshii turn five shades of vermilion. Even I had to admit that the look on her face had been priceless. Tai had only been asking an honest question: he wasn't _trying_ to embarrass our teacher! It would still be a couple years before he hid (but didn't lose) his sweet, caring nature and picked up his cocky, trouble-making habits. Anyway, as I waited for Tai, I thought about what had happened at recess:

Miss Tanoshii had taken us all outside to the playground to play. Most of the girls sat in the shade of a big tree and played with dolls or skipped rope, but that didn't interest me at all. The rest of the girls and a couple boys were playing on the playground and chasing each other. I had started to walk towards them when I noticed something that looked like a _lot _more fun: _Tai and the rest of the boys were picking teams to play soccer!_

Once again I was very glad that I had changed out of that dress.

Excited, I ran over to the guys just as they finished picking teams. "All right!" Tai was saying as I walked up to the back of the group. "Everybody knows the rules, right? Any questions?"

I took a deep breath. "Can I play?"

The eyes of every boy in the group turned to stare at me. Some of them looked surprised, some uncertain, and a couple wore scornful sneers.

"She can't play! She's a _girl!_" one boy said, and a chorus of agreement rose from the group.

"Forget it!"

"Get lost!"

"Go play dolls or somethin,' _girl_."

I felt the tears begin to well up in my eyes, but then one voice rose above all the others: _"STOP THAT RIGHT NOW!!!"_

Silence fell over the group, and they all turned to stare at the speaker.

It was Tai.

He pushed through the crowd of boys to stand protectively in front of me, facing the mob fearlessly. He had a fierce, determined look on his face as he said, "_So what_ if she's a girl! She's my _friend_, and _I_ say she play! If anyone has a problem with that, then they've got a problem with me, too!"

"Aw, Tai! She'll wreck the game!"

Tai just picked up his ball, and his face grew even more resolved. "I don't play if she doesn't," he stated, and the other kids heard the finality in those words.

"Oh, all right."

"I guess she can play."

"Whose team'll she be on?"

"Yeah, we've already got an even number!"

Tai winked at me. "Well, since she's a _girl_, why should she count?" he pointed out.

"Oh, that's true."

"Sounds fair to me. But she's on _your_ team, Tai."

"Yeah, we actually wanna _win_."

"Hey, quit talkin' and let's play!"

A cheer of agreement went up, and the game began!

Now, if you know anything about soccer, you know that there are _lots_ of different strategies and positionings for the game. In the game we played, the only "solid" position was the goalie, and the only strategy was to get the ball and score. After the kickoff, nearly everyone clustered around the ball, kicking and shoving, trying to get at the elusive sphere. I was just standing there, watching in disbelief when Tai ran up and gave me a roguish grin. "Here's the plan," he explained. "I'm gonna get the ball outta there, and you dribble down and shoot, okay?"

" 'K.' "

With that, he plunged into the fray. True to his word, in a few seconds Tai broke away from the group, and he had the soccer ball! But not, it seemed, for long: the whole group began to chase him. "Here, Sora!" Tai passed me the ball, and then the group caught him and he was lost in the crowd.

I took one look at the mob heading straight for the ball (and me) and I froze in fear. Then I remembered all the times I'd played with Tai at the park that summer, and I realized that I had no reason to be afraid. I started dribbling for all I was worth, heading for the goal. I didn't look back, but I ran faster and faster till I reached the goal box. Everyone else was far behind me, and it was one-on-one, me versus the goalie.

"Shoot, Sora!" I heard Tai yell from somewhere behind me. I pulled back my left foot and the goalie lunged to his left to block my shot--but suddenly I switched feet, striking hard with my right foot instead. The goalie, not expecting me to know that kind of a trick, had committed to going left and could do nothing to block my shot. The ball sailed into the goal easily and unhindered.

Tai had taught me well.

Silence fell over the soccer field. I turned to see all the guys staring at me, mouths open and eyes wide with shock . . . all the guys except one—Tai. He was grinning, proud and triumphant, as he ran over to me. To my surprise, he threw an arm around my shoulders and, without removing his arm, turned to the others, "Now what do you think, guys? Can she play soccer with us?"

"YEAH!" they responded, cheering.

"She's great!"

"Awesome fake, man! . . . Er, I mean—"

"That was so cool!"

"You're the best!"

"Can she play on our team every day, Tai?"

"Hey, that's not fair!"

I looked over at Tai. His warm, glowing brown eyes met mine, and I knew then that we would always be the best of friends . . . no matter what.

I went over to his apartment that day after school, and we had a blast playing his video games. It was only the first of the many, many days we spent together. A couple years passed, and though we had our disagreements every now and then, we were still best friends. I was always there for him, to help and encourage him, even when some really weird things started happening:

One night, I woke up around midnight. I was shivering and covered in a cold sweat, and it wasn't because the building's heating system had quit working again. I still don't know what it was, but _something_ inside me told me to go look out the window. I followed that pull, and what I saw in the streets below was so bizarre I thought I must have still been dreaming.

I saw a big, orange dinosaur-monster on the street below, and attacking it was a huge, green bird-like creature. On the ground beside the orange one I could see two small figures . . .

"K-Kari? TAI!"

I pressed up against the glass, watching in amazement as the orange monster spat a fireball at the green one. The huge green bird, unhurt by the attack, cackled something, and then I noticed the electricity playing on the metal plate on its head.

"Huh?" _What's it doing?_ I wondered.

Almost as if in answer to my question, the bird let loose an electrical burst, knocking the orange monster into the Terrace Bridge. A cloud of dust went up, and Tai, Kari, and the orange monster were lost in it. Then—"Whoa!"— the lights went out all over Highton View Terrace.

I peered through the dust, trying to see what had happened to Tai and Kari, and the big orange thing. But when the dust settled, all I could see was the big orange monster. Suddenly, I noticed that it was _different_—bigger, a whole lot bigger, but now it also had a brown face mask, blue stripes, and its skin was a darker orange.

_But where are Kari and Tai?_ I wondered, desperately scanning the street for them. Then the now-huge orange dinosaur-monster slowly rose to its feet, and I saw with relief that it had been protecting Tai and Kari, shielding them with its body. I heard it growl something to Kari and Tai, then it spewed a huge, white stream of flame at the big bird. The bird fell over backwards, and the orange dinosaur stepped over Tai--who was trying to hold Kari back, away from the monsters--and charged at the bird. The two monsters grappled for a second, then the green bird threw the orange dinosaur backward and gave it another jolt of its electric attack. The dinosaur fell back stricken, nearly crushing Tai and Kari, and lay motionless. The big green bird started to approach, and for some reason, I felt afraid for the big orange dinosaur. Kari and Tai tried without success to revive their orange protector. _Come on, Tai! Think of something!_ I forgot how he had switched our lunches the day his mom packed him a peanut butter-and-fungus sandwich. I forgot how he borrowed my soccer jersey for a week while I was out of town, then returned it to me with the whole week's worth of sweat, dirt, and grime on it. I even forgot how mad I had been at him earlier that day for throwing up in my hat and not telling me about it before I put it on. I forgot everything except the immediate danger to my best friend and his little sister. And suddenly, it hit me. _The whistle, Tai! Use Kari's whistle to wake that big dinosaur up!_ Straining my eyes in the dim light, I thought I saw Kari raise the whistle to her lips and try to blow, but it looked as thought she suddenly started coughing so hard she could hardly breathe.

Tai watched her for a second, then grabbed her whistle.

He took a deep breath.

_Come on, Tai!_

He put the whistle to his lips . . .

_Come on, Tai!_

And he blew. He blew, and blew, and blew.

"Come on, Tai!" I heard myself say out loud, though I knew he couldn't hear me. _Please let this work! Get up, Dinosaur! Please get up!_ I thought desperately. 

It worked, all right.

To my relief, the big orange dinosaur's eyes suddenly snapped open. With a resounding roar, the dinosaur lurched to its feet again, charged, and spat a long stream of white fire at the bird. The flame swirled, engulfing the huge, green bird; then it swallowed up the orange dinosaur, too, and everything went black . . .

When I woke up, I was on the floor in my room, slumped against the glass. It was morning, and the sun was rising over the city skyline. _Was it all a dream?_ I wondered, staring out the window blearily. Then I looked down at the street below: the bridge was nearly demolished, and the concrete of the street was a total wreck, spider-web cracks branching from the deep, crater-like impact marks of the monsters throwing each other to the ground, the rifts and debris stretching for nearly five blocks.

I knew with certainty that it had really happened.

I knew for sure that it wasn't a dream.

_I wonder what all this means?_ I asked myself.

My parents, however, thought they knew what was going on. They kept on talking about terrorists and bombs, and I knew they would never listen to my story of what really happened. Just to make sure I wasn't going crazy, I went over to Tai's house that day to ask him about what had happened last night. He was glad for someone to talk to about it; his parents weren't interested in hearing the real story either. I asked him about what the orange dinosaur—he called it "Greymon"—had said to him and Kari. He told me everything that had happened, and said that he was sorry about the hat thing.

I forgave him, of course.

I probably would have stayed over at his house longer if I had known it might be the last time I'd ever see him: when I got home my parents were busy packing up everything, and we moved away the very next day. _They didn't even let me say good-bye to Tai,_ I thought sadly as we drove away from Highton View Terrace.

I turned my face towards the car window so my parents wouldn't see the tears sliding their way down my cheeks.


	2. Best Friend, Found Again

For the next year-and-a-half we were constantly moving around to different sections of Tokyo, and even to a couple different cities; we never stayed anywhere more that a few months. Finally, we came to stay in the Odaiba sector of Tokyo. My mom opened her own flower shop, one of her long-time dreams; my dad, however, kept his job at the University in Kyoto, which he had found when we lived there for a couple months. It was a strain having him be away so much; he had his own apartment at the University, and the trip was too long for him to come home every day. But he loved his job, and it paid well, so my mom didn't argue with him about it.

I had found a park that was only a short walk away from our apartment building, so after telling my mom where I'd be, I went for a walk through the park, bringing my soccer ball with me.

I practiced dribbling for a little while, then sat down on a park bench, holding my soccer ball on my lap. The soccer ball that Tai had given me for my birthday just a couple weeks before I had moved away . . .

It had been almost two whole years, but I still missed Tai. At all the other places I'd moved to, we had never stayed long enough for me to make any close friends, and I had only been in Odaiba for two weeks or so.

I felt utterly alone.

Choking back a sob, I hugged my soccer ball tightly to my chest, putting my head down on the comforting firmness of the black-and-white checked sphere, and I just let myself cry.

"Hey, are you okay?"

I raised my head at the friendly voice, wondering who would care if one lonely girl, a complete stranger, was crying on a park bench. I looked up through tear-filled eyes to see a brown-haired boy bending over me. I sniffed, and he offered me a clean, white handkerchief to wipe my eyes. After I had cleared my blurry vision, I looked up again at the boy—and I nearly fell off the bench in surprise. The brown-haired boy was about my age, and his soft brown eyes looked down at me with concern, concern that was reflected in his cute face . . .

_"Tai!"_ I exclaimed in surprise and sudden, overwhelming joy. I threw my arms around his neck, hugging him ecstatically. He seemed startled by my response, and that I knew his name.

"Who . . .?"

"It's me, Tai! Don't you remember me?"

He took a good look at my face, and instantly recognition flooded his face.

_"Sora?!_ Is that really you?" I nodded, speechless with joy. Now he eagerly gave me a hug, and I returned his embrace.

"I thought I'd never see you again--you left so suddenly," he said once our initial joy had faded. He sat down beside me on the bench. "What happened?"

"My parents decided to move after the terrorist bombing at Highton View Terrace, and they didn't tell me until I got home from your house. They never let me say goodbye to you, but when I cried, they didn't know why." It was years until I told him that I'd often cried myself to sleep after that, that I'd cried myself to sleep just a few nights ago, my lonely heart aching for my old best friend.

"Wow," Tai said suddenly.

"What?"

"I was just thinking, what are the odds of two kids who went to school together both moving, and then finding each other again two years later in a city the size of Tokyo?"

"I don't know, but it sounds almost impossible!"

"Yeah . . . but it happened. And I'm glad it did."

"Me, too." I paused, and we just looked at each other for a minute, gazing at the familiar, yet different, face in front of us.

"I missed you, Sora," he said at last, looking away, and I thought a hint of a blush crossed his cheeks. "I mean, it's almost like destiny or something. Well, I mean—I, uh . . ." He ended lamely, obviously embarrassed.

"I missed you, too, Tai," I cut in, and he looked up, relieved at the warmth in my tone. Then I gave him a bright smile. "Hey Tai?"

"Yeah?"

I offered him my ball. "You wanna play soccer?"  
  
I enrolled in the same school as Tai, and I joined his soccer team, too. Once again I was the only girl on the team, but I played as well as or better than anyone else, and Tai defended me (sometimes literally), so no one bothered me about being a girl more than once. Tai was still my best friend, and he was the same old Tai around me; but when he was around other people, he sometimes seemed to hide his true self, and it only rarely showed through the mask of "Tai the cool soccer star."

I had tried to make friends with the girls in my class, but for the most part they thought I was too much of a tomboy. The only girl who would really talk to me was a fashion-conscious, pink-loving girl named Mimi Tachikawa. She wasn't even in my class; she was in the class below me, and she seemed to be friends with everyone. I knew by hearing it firsthand that a lot of the guys had a crush on Mimi, and even Tai seemed in awe of her.

One day after soccer practice—and after I had heard another two hours' worth of 'Mimi this' and 'Mimi that,'—I was feeling a little bit down. Tai was my friend, and that was the way I liked it, but could he ever think of me as more than just a friend? Why did his eyes and tone of voice seem to change when he talked about Mimi, but not when he talked about me? I sighed and headed home.

"Hello, Sora! It _is_ Sora, isn't it?" I looked up from inspecting my cleats to see Mimi, respondent in a pink skirt and blouse with a matching pink ribbon in her long, beautiful, perfect hair, smiling at me.

_Great,_ I thought. I hadn't even bothered to change out of my sweaty soccer jersey, and I just happened to run into Little Miss Fashion Model. I did _not_ feel like dealing with that right then. "Uh, hi. Yeah, I'm Sora. What's up?"

Mimi beamed at me. "Oh, I'm going shopping, of course! But I saw you walking along all by yourself and I thought I'd ask if you wanted to get something to eat together?"

I stared at her, wondering what her angle was. "Okay," I finally agreed, curiosity overcoming caution.

We were done with our meals and were walking out the restaurant door when she asked me the question she must have been waiting to ask all along: "So, Sora, who do you like?"

I felt my jaw drop. _"What?!"_

"I mean, you _do_ like someone, don't you?" Mimi continued, oblivious to my discomfort. "Just because you're a tomboy doesn't mean you can't like someone, right?"

I just stared at her, my eyes big as silver dollars. Then I snorted and turned my head. "Why would I tell you?" _And why should I tell anyone?_

"But Sora," Mimi said. "Girls _always_ tell each other who they have a crush on. It's, like, tradition almost! Only you probably wouldn't know that, would you? You only hang out with the boys, not the girls. Oh, well," she shrugged. "I just thought you might like some _female_ companionship for a change." She started to walk away. "See ya later, I guess."

I felt a sudden pang of longing. Even though Tai was a great friend, my best friend, I sometimes _did_ want a "girl friend" to talk to . . . "Wait!" I called, running after Mimi.

"Hmm?" From the tone of her voice, she must have known that she had me, that I really did want to have a girl-to-girl talk . . .

"Oh, all right. Come on." I started walking down the street, looking for some place a little bit more private. Finding a small alley, I turned and waited for Mimi to catch up. I looked around to make sure that no one was listening, then leaned in close and said, "I've never told anyone, but I guess . . . I . . . I _do_ have a crush on someone."

Mimi giggled. "I knew it! The other girls said you were too tough to like boys, but I knew better! Who is it?" she asked eagerly.

I hesitated. "Well . . ." _Well, what can it hurt? Who would care, anyway?_ "I . . . I like Tai," I blurted.

"Really?" Mimi's eyes were large. "But I thought you two were best friends . . .?"

"Well, I guess . . . I kinda have a crush on him, too," I said. Now I was sure that I was blushing.

"Wow! I never would have guessed!" Mimi giggled again and started towards the mall. "Bye, Sora! See you Monday!" Then she said, mostly to herself, "Tai and Sora Kamiya: sounds perfect to me! Who knew?"

Soon school let out for the summer, and Tai and I ended up going to the same summer camp. As I got on the bus, I caught a glimpse of a bright pink cowboy hat. Wondering who would wear such a thing, I took a closer look and groaned to myself. I should have known: it was Mimi. She was sitting in the middle of a group of her "followers," girls (and some guys, who were trying to be inconspicuous and failing utterly) who admired her pretty face and her fashion sense. I shook my head in annoyance and looked for an empty seat.

"Sora! Over here!"

Tai was waving at me from the back of the bus where he and a bunch of the guys were sitting: he'd saved me a seat. Mimi looked up as I walked down the aisle and gave me a wink. "Have fun."

I could still feel myself blushing when I reached Tai and sat down.

"Hey, Sora." He glanced back up the aisle towards the pink hat, then back at me. "What was that all about?"

"Oh, uh, nothing, Tai! I—just—never mind." I turned my head, avoiding his eyes.

"Okay." He sounded a little confused, but he knew I'd tell him when--and if--I was ready. "Anyway, did you bring your soccer ball?" he asked. I unzipped my backpack and handed him the ball. "Great! As soon as we get a little free time, let's play!" The other guys around us agreed.

"Sounds excellent."

"Hey, Sora's on my team!"

"No way, dude, she's on mine!"

"That's not fair, man!"

I smiled to myself. The guys might admire Mimi's pretty face, but they valued my soccer skills enough to argue over me, tomboy or not.

Once we reached the summer camp, another really weird thing happened: me, Tai, Mimi, and four other kids were transported to the Digital World, which seems to be a parallel dimension of some sort. There, we met our partners, the Digimon themselves. Tai's partner is Agumon, a (relatively) little orange dinosaur. Mine is Biyomon, a cute, pink, bird-like Digimon. (I still smile when I think about how jealous Mimi must have been; my partner was both pink _and_ ten times cuter than Palmon, Mimi's plant-like partner.)

Anyway, we had some pretty wild adventures, and Tai and I grew even closer through them. Once, he literally _caught_ me when a Digimon tried to throw me to the ground, and another time he trusted me to take care of Kari when she was sick. (Even today Kari is like a little sister to me; Tai and I were that close.)

Strangely enough, Mimi and I grew closer also: actually, I think we just finally began to _understand_ each other. Well, however it happened, I had my first really close female friend. Sometimes, though, we still had our misunderstandings.

Best of all, my mom and I became really close because of the Digimon. I realized that she didn't hate me, and she wasn't trying to ruin my fun when she was overprotective; she was only trying to protect me because she loved me so much.


	3. Open Secret

A couple years had passed since our adventure in the DigiWorld, and Tai and I were going into high school. I was still considered a tomboy--even though I worked in my mom's flower shop a lot--because I still played a lot of soccer. I was happy, and everything was back to normal until one day at lunch when I overheard two of my classmates (both girls) whispering together at their lunch table:

"Hey, look over there. It's Sora the Tomboy."

"You know, she'd be really pretty if she'd lose the hat and actually wear a skirt with her uniform instead of pants all the time."

"It must be because of all the soccer she plays--her legs must be all cut and bruised, and she doesn't want anyone to know."

"Soccer is just _not_ a sport for girls. I think it's just too rough."

"Yeah, I mean, how is she ever going to find a boyfriend if she doesn't act more _feminine?_ Most guys do _not_ like tomboys."

"Oh, well. I guess it increases _our _odds; after all, she's still the prettiest girl in our class, even if she _is_ a tomboy."

I didn't know what to think. They were complimenting me, and yet making fun of me at the same time. But their next words _really_ caught my attention:

"Do you know what I heard? Sora's got a crush on someone."

"Really? Who is it?"

"I don't know. Mimi wouldn't tell me _who_, she just said that Sora _did_ have a crush on someone."

"I bet Mimi just doesn't know."

"I think she does, but just isn't telling. Mimi has a way of getting what she wants, you know."

"Yeah, I know. I mean, she gets all _my_ secrets out of me! I end up telling her _everything_."

"Everything?"

"Like, totally everything!"

"Even the secrets _I_ tell you?"

"Well . . ." 

I tuned out the rest of their conversation, knowing that a huge argument was imminent. I had forgotten that I'd told Mimi I liked Tai. _Well, at least Mimi hasn't told them who._

At least, that's what I thought . . .

Later that day I ran into Mimi. "Oh, hi, Sora!" She looked at little surprised to see me; she had moved away to New York City in America not long after our adventure in the Digital World and was just here in Tokyo on a short visit.

"Hey, I just wanted to thank you for not telling anyone that I like Tai. It's been almost three years now! That's a long time to keep a secret. I'm impressed."

Mimi suddenly looked distinctly uncomfortable. "Well, Sora, it's funny that you would mention that . . ."

_Uh-oh. She couldn't have, could she?_

"Because, you see . . . well, a couple of the guys on the soccer team were asking me if I knew of anyone who liked Tai, and it just sort of . . . slipped out."

I stared at her numbly. "What?! You just _told_ them I like Tai?! I thought you were my friend! Friends don't tell each others' secrets!"

Mimi made a pouty face. "Hey, you didn't _tell_ me it was a secret. How was I supposed to know you didn't want anyone else to know?"

I didn't reply. Instead, I just bolted for the girls' room. I needed to think, and I didn't want Tai to see me just yet.

_He still might not know,_ I thought as I stared at my reflection in the bathroom mirror. I saw a skinny, ginger-haired girl with brown eyes wearing the top half of a girl's school uniform, a nice pair of dress slacks, and, of course, a hat. _How could he ever like me? I'm just a tomboy. I always wear a hat, and I never wear skirts or dresses. Maybe . . . maybe if—"_ Just then, the bell rang. "Oh, shoot! I'm going to be late!" With that I dashed out of the bathroom.

That day at soccer practice, Tai got covered with mud--it had rained the night before, and it was his turn to play goalie. After practice, he came over and gave me a big, muddy hug and a quick kiss on the cheek, much to the amusement of the rest of the team. They laughed and yelled things like, "Kiss him back! Kiss him back!" or "Score! One point for Tai!" and even "Uh-oh! Someone had better call the fire department! We have two hearts on fire!" I was embarrassed, and a little angry, too. I knew he had only done it because the other guys on the team had dared him to.

I tried to avoid Tai all the next day, and at lunch I sat at a table by myself. But even though everyone else let me to sit alone, Tai wouldn't. He set his lunch tray down, then sat across from me as he always did. "Hey, what's up pretty girl?"

It was our long-running private joke. I forced myself to smile and replied, "Nothing much, good-lookin.' What's up with you?" I still couldn't bring myself to meet his gaze.

"Nothing much." Surprised at the quiet, gentle tone of his voice, I looked up—and my sad, hurt eyes met his. Somewhere deep in those brown depths, I saw that he _knew_. He knew that I liked him. He knew that he had embarrassed me at soccer practice the day before, and he was truly sorry for it. He even knew that Mimi had been the one to let slip the secret that I liked him. In fact, I realized with a start, he'd probably known that I liked him before Mimi had said anything at all.

He knew everything about me, and what's more, he _understood_. "I'm sorry, Sora" he whispered, covering my hand with one of his.

My eyes welled up with unshed tears. "I forgive you, Tai." I suddenly remembered his hand on top of mine, and I could feel myself blushing, my face flushed bright fire engine red.

I managed a little laugh.

"What?" Tai asked, a little surprised.

I put my other hand to my face. "I think . . . I might need that fire truck after all!"

Everything was going perfectly. I had the best friend in the world, someone who really loved me and cared about me; someone who didn't see just the outside, didn't see 'Sora the Tomboy' when he looked at me. He looked past the outside, straight through my eyes into the depths of my soul . . . and I ended up throwing it all away. 


	4. My Choice

It was the summer before my junior year of high school, and I had decided that that year I would make some _changes_. I had signed up for the tennis team, something new for me, and I had gotten my school uniform all ready…and this year, I had a skirt to go with it instead of pants. That summer I had still played soccer with Tai often, but I had begun to work in my mom's flower shop more and more.

On the first day of school, I was a few minutes late: my mom had gotten a big shipment of flowers early that morning, and she had needed a lot of help to get everything set up, so I had volunteered to work early in the morning. The time had gotten away from me, though, so I ended up being a little bit late to school.

As I walked up to the teacher's desk to hand in my late slip, I heard gasps of surprise. I quickly glanced down at my clothes to make sure I hadn't forgotten to put pants on…and then I remembered: today, for the first time in years, I was wearing a skirt.

I felt my cheeks warming, and knew that I was blushing—not badly, but blushing none the less. I dropped the note on the teacher's desk and hurriedly found a seat--right in front of Tai. The murmuring and whispering continued, and I wished that I could sink into the ground. Tai, behind me, leaned forward and whispered in my ear, "Just ignore them, Sora. They're just jealous. I think you look great!"

I felt my face flaming, but I gave Tai an embarrassed-but-grateful smile.

Then the teacher started explaining something about our homework, and I managed to lose myself in the schoolwork for a while.

* * *

A couple days later, Tai called a Digidestined meeting. It was great: the whole team from four years ago was back together again (except for Mimi, who was living in America). That was when it all started; that was when everything essentially fell apart. 

It had been so long since I'd seen Matt…he looked so _different._ I mean, he'd always been popular, and he'd always been "cool," and the years hadn't changed that at all. But to my immense bewilderment, I actually found myself blushing when our eyes met, and I looked away hurriedly, trying to fight back the sudden heat that pulsed through my entire body.

Matt had always been a _cute_ boy, but…I wasn't prepared to see him looking so…handsome.

The meeting was over soon, and I fled, but I could not escape the feeling that something had changed.

I wasn't at all surprised when Matt called me after school the next day--"just to catch up" he was quick to reassure me, but I could hear the embarrassment in his voice. The awkwardness didn't last long, however, and we both went away from the conversation happy with our renewed contact, as well as a promise to talk again soon.

I only realized later on that I had completely missed the soccer game I'd been meaning to go to—I hadn't missed one yet, and I knew Tai always looked for me in the stands—but when I saw him at school the next day, his smile still seemed as easy and laid-back as ever, if just a tiny bit sad. I felt a pang of guilt at this, but didn't offer any explanation as to where I'd been; if he wanted to know, he'd have to ask. It wasn't like we'd made any sort of promise to each other anyway…Tai had never really said anything about liking me as anything more than a friend, and you can't expect a girl can't wait around forever, especially when there's a drop-dead gorgeous rock star who's obviously interested in her.

…But actually, it wasn't Matt's fault at all. I was the one who _really_ started it.

* * *

It was Christmas Eve, and Matt's band had their first really big show that night--they were actually going to be on television! I had baked him some cookies, and Biyomon and I were going to take them to him when we ran into Tai outside of the auditorium: 

"Sora—wait up!"

"Oh, Tai," I said, then, remembering exactly why I was there, I made a half-hearted attempt to hide the cookies, coloring slightly and attempting to shrink away. "Uh…"

"Something smells good!" Agumon exclaimed, sending him into a quick but unheated argument with Biyomon and Gabumon about the cookies.

"So, um, Sora? Are you goin' to the concert with anybody? I mean, not that it matters to me, just wondering."

I could tell that it really _did _matter to him, that he was just trying to be "cool," but that knowledge still didn't change my answer, though I hesitated before giving it:

"No, I wanna be available in case Matt is free afterwards."

"Oh, I see…Matt, huh?"

I blushed and let out a nervous little laugh, then swallowed hard as Tai approached. "Uh…" To my surprise, he rested a gentle hand on my shoulder, brown eyes looking unwaveringly into mine.

"It's okay," he said softly.

I blinked. "You're not mad at me, Tai?"

He gave a soft sort of chuckle. "No, of course not." He turned me around and gently shoved me towards the door to the auditorium. "Now get in there and say 'hi' to Matt for me."

I gave him a grateful little half-smile. "Thanks, Tai."

Biyomon and Gabumon had already disappeared through the doorway, but Agumon was still standing beside Tai. "The least you could do is leave us the cookies!" he exclaimed.

I laughed quietly. "Tell you what. I'll make some special ones for you."

"Thanks," Tai answered.

…And then he said one last thing as I turned my back on him and walked away. Three words, spoken barely above a whisper: "I'll be waiting."

_I'll be waiting._

Not "I don't believe you" or "You can't do this" or even "Why, Sora?"

Just "I'll be waiting."

Those words hurt to think about now, for they show how much he loved me. He didn't try to make me stay: he let me go. He wanted _me_ to be happy more than he wanted his own happiness. He knew that if I walked through that door, I wouldn't walk out the same. And still he didn't try to stop me.

They say if you really love someone, you'll set them free.

That's what Tai did.

And still I didn't see it.


	5. Something Gained, Something Lost

Well, sure enough, pretty soon Matt and I were a couple. All the girls at school were jealous of me: _my_ boyfriend was blonde, beautiful, and sang and played lead guitar in his own band. I was pretty proud of myself. Both of my parents loved Matt, and he treated me like a princess, made me feel special, and was always very protective of me.

Tai and I were still good friends, but I found that I had less and less time to spend with him--Matt took up most of my time now. And yet even then, Tai wasn't bitter. He still talked to me whenever he could, still helped me with my homework, still gave me birthday and Christmas presents. Sometimes when I found the time we would hang out together, but…it was _different_. It felt like we weren't as close, and I found that Tai seemed almost scared to touch me anymore because of Matt.

All through the last year-and-a-half of high school, Tai never had a girlfriend. Lots of girls had crushes on him and would have loved for him to ask them out, but he never did. Matt was constantly teasing Tai about not having a girlfriend, but Tai never got angry at him. He knew Matt didn't know how much it hurt him that his best friend had "stolen his girl," even though we'd never technically been together.

But I knew. I saw all the little things, the small indicators of the pain I knew Tai was feeling.

_And I ignored it._ What else could I do? I felt so helpless. I really did think I was in love with Matt, and I definitely didn't want to leave him. He _needed_ me, someone who he could love without having the fear of being hurt. I didn't know what to do, but I knew that I had to talk to Tai and tell him what was going on. However, I didn't get a chance to do that until it was too late.

* * *

It was at the Senior Prom. Matt and I had gone together, of course, and I felt very beautiful in my sparkly sky-blue dress with my hair all done up in ringlets. I could tell that even Matt was impressed. 

The dance was about halfway over, and Matt and I had begun dancing to another slow song. I had my arms around his neck, and my head resting on his shoulder, eyes closed, when a quiet voice beside us spoke. "Mind if I cut in?"

I opened my eyes to see Tai standing there, an unreadable expression on his face. For a moment I felt Matt tense, but then he nodded. Apparently he _could_ read Tai's expression. "Sure." He looked down at me. "See ya in a few, okay?" I blinked, unsure, but didn't object as Matt twirled me out of his arms and into Tai's. I watched as he made his way off the dance floor and over to the DJ and band, then I turned my head to look at Tai. He was staring at me intently, his eyes going over my face more carefully than they ever had before. It was almost as if he was trying to catch every detail and burn it into his memory, as if he thought he'd never see me again and wanted to have a clear, perfect image to keep always.

"Tai," I said softly. "What are you doing?" He didn't answer for a long moment; when he did speak, he asked a question of his own.

"Do you want to go for a walk? I want—" He paused for a second and looked away, then said more quietly, yet somehow more forcefully, "I _need_ to talk with you."

"But what about Matt? Won't he think—"

"I already asked him. He said it's fine."

"Okay," I agreed, still a little reluctant.

The Prom was being held in the ballroom of a beautiful hotel, so we walked in the gardens behind the main building. We found a bench underneath a big apple tree. The tree was in full bloom, and rained flowers down on us, but Tai didn't even seem to notice. He looked very preoccupied, like he had something important on his mind.

We had been sitting there for a while, silent, when Tai suddenly seemed to come to a decision. He turned to me and looked straight into my eyes. "Sora," he began, and I could hear the note of well-repressed sorrow in his voice. "I guess—I just wanted to tell you goodbye."

"What?" I asked him, surprised.

He looked away and continued, "I wanted to thank you for being my best friend all these years. We were a great team…and we could have been something more. I—I thought we would be someday." He drew in a shuddering breath and plunged on. "I know it's my fault, that if I had really wanted a relationship with you I should have spoken sooner, but I always thought—" His voice cracked, and he had to pause for a moment to get it back under control. "I always thought that you felt the same way about me as I feel about you, that we already _were_…something _more_ than just friends. I thought it was destiny."

My mind flashed back to that day years ago when he had found me crying on the park bench:

"_Wow," Tai said suddenly._

"_What?"_

"_I was just thinking, what are the odds of two kids who went to school together both moving, and then finding each other again two years later in a city the size of Tokyo?"_

"_I don't know, but it sounds almost impossible!"_

"_Yeah…but it happened. And I'm glad it did."_

"_Me, too." I paused, and we just looked at each other for a minute, gazing at the familiar, yet different, face in front of us._

"_I missed you, Sora," he said at last, looking away, and I thought a hint of a blush crossed his cheeks. "I mean, it's almost like destiny or something. Well, I mean—I, uh..." He ended lamely, obviously embarrassed._

"_I missed you, too, Tai," I cut in, and he looked up, relieved at the warmth in my tone_.

-  
How could I have missed it? He'd liked me for as long as I'd liked him! Maybe even longer. But now…

"Tai, I—"

"No, you don't need to apologize," he cut me off. He raised serious brown eyes to meet mine. "I know you saw my pain. And I know you didn't know what to do. And I also know that you think Matt needs you, and you don't want to hurt him." Tai passed a hand over his eyes. "But,_ God_, I was just so_ jealous!_ I just couldn't understand it. Matt had half the girls in Odaiba at his mercy, _and he takes the **one** girl I love, the **only** girl I've ever wanted."_

I felt sick, like someone had punched me in the gut. I hadn't thought about it like that.

"I just didn't understand how my best friend could do this to me, how he could take the girl he _knew_ I'd liked practically my whole life. I felt _betrayed_." He didn't even try to hide the tears that streamed hotly down his face.

"I'm so sorry," I whispered, a tear of my own slipping down my cheek.

Even through his own blurry eyes, Tai noticed that tear. He raised a hand and gently brushed it away, smiling wryly. "You know, that's probably the last time I'll ever do that," he said quietly.

I felt a surge of panic rush through me. Was he leaving me? And then at last it hit me. He had _never_ left me:

_I_ had left _him_.

"Oh, Tai!" I cried suddenly, and threw my arms around him. He rocked me gently as I sobbed out my sorrow, my pain, my regret. After I had calmed down, he gently pulled away, rising to his feet.

"C'mon, we'd better get back in there, or Matt will have a search party out for us."

"Tai," I murmured. I wasn't ready to go back yet. He looked down at me questioningly. "We can start over. I—I can—"

"No, you can't," Tai stated firmly. I was surprised; it was the first time Tai had told me outright what to do in terms of a relationship. He came back to sit beside me and took one of my hands in both of his. "Sora, _you love him_. And I know he loves you. If I split you two up, I wouldn't be able to live with myself. I really _would_ be betraying you both." He raised my hand to his lips and kissed it gently. "I can't do it, Sora. Besides, I'm going to be traveling a lot these next few years. You need someone who'll always be there for you, not some commuter who'll be gone most weekends and holidays. It'll all work out, you'll see."

"Right," I said noncommittally.

"So, Sora, I guess,,,this is goodbye." He looked at me for a long while, and I saw the tears welling up again. He suddenly leaned over and kissed my cheek softly, oh so softly. Then he hurriedly stood. "Goodbye, Sora," was all he said before turning and disappearing into the night.

Tears falling freely down my cheeks, I whispered my reply: "Goodbye, Tai."


	6. Flowers

Tai was right. That was the last time we were ever together like that again. The next few years he was constantly traveling, taking college courses in many different counties. Oh, he still wrote me letters and sent me e-mails, and even sent both Matt and me birthday and Christmas presents, but I was lucky if I actually saw him more than twice a year. By the time he'd gotten through all the college he needed to be a successful diplomat, Matt and I had been happily married for almost two years, and a little one was on the way.

I was in my eighth month, and the due date was approaching rapidly when Matt, who was in the Air Force, was called into astronaut training. He was going to be gone the whole month before I was due, but there was nothing for it. I knew he had always dreamed of becoming an astronaut, and I wasn't going to let something that only _might_ happen get in the way of his dream.

The last day of that week, I ran into Tai. I was working in my mom's flower shop when I turned around, and there he was, looking into the refrigerated display case at the roses. "Hello, Tai," I said. "This is a pleasant surprise."

Startled, he looked up, then grinned. "Sora! How are you?" He noticed my swollen stomach and his grin widened. "Looks like _you've_ been busy while I was gone. Are you robbing fruit stands now? You know, if you really wanted a watermelon that much, you could have just asked Kari. She loves the stuff. Always has one at her apartment . . ." He trailed off, watching my face closely.

I had felt a strange _twinge_ in my stomach, but it quickly passed.

"Sora?" Tai's voice was full of concern.

"Oh, it's nothing. I'm—" I stopped as I felt another pain, this one a little harder and a little longer.

"Sora, it's time, isn't it? Here, sit down while I get my car." He sat me down in the chair behind the counter, then ran out the door and down the sidewalk, weaving through the crowd. As soon as he was out of sight, I stood again and began to close up the shop. I was locking the front door when Tai's car pulled up. "Good thinking," he said as I settled myself into the front seat. "Which hospital do you want?"

Another contraction nearly bent me double. "Whichever one's closest!"

"Right!" he agreed, and stepped on it.

* * *

Once at the hospital, he stayed by the gurney while the nurses wheeled me to a room. 

"Where can I reach Matt?" Tai asked, pulling out his cell phone.

"You can't."

Tai looked at me aghast. "What?!"

"You can't reach him. He's at a month-long training camp and won't be back till late Saturday night."

"He left when he knew you were this close to being due?" Tai demanded angrily.

"It wasn't his fault, Tai," I said calmly. I had to wait for another contraction to pass before continuing. "I told him to go. I didn't think that it would happen this soon—"

"Well, I can at least leave him a message! What's the number?"

"Tai—" 

"_What's the number_?"

I was not in the mood to argue, so I gave up and told him. He reached someone just as we arrived at my room.

One of the nurses, a very pretty blonde with big blue eyes, approached Tai. "I'm sorry, sir," she said in a sweet voice. "You'll have to turn off your cell phone. They aren't permitted here—"

"Sorry, lady, but this is important." Turning his back to her, he put the phone back to his ear. "Hello? Yes—I need to speak to Mr. Yamato Ishida right away. What? Not available? Well, why don't you _make_ him available? Find him! _Now!_" He listened intently for a moment, then snarled, "I don't _care_ if he's busy! His wife's in labor right now! Write this down: we're at the Odaiba General Hospital, room number 55-10. You tell him he'd better get his rocket-boosted butt over here fast! Yes, I—_hey!"_ The beautiful nurse suddenly snatched the phone from his hands and hit the power button.

"No phones in the building," she said, slapping it against her palm for emphasis. "You can pick it up at the front desk on your way out. Thank you, sir." She gave Tai a winsome smile and left the room, phone in hand.

"Hey, thanks a _lot!"_ Tai called after her. He turned and gave me a lopsided smile. "Well, you can't blame me for trying," he shrugged.

I smiled back at him, but the smile quickly turned into a grimace as the worst contraction yet wracked my body. Tai took one look at my face and headed for the door. "Hey, a little help, people?" he yelled out into the hallway. Satisfied that the doctor was coming, he came back to sit in the chair by the head of the bed. He stayed close as the nurse inserted the IV, and he urged me to squeeze his hand as hard as I could whenever I had a bad contraction. And they were getting steadily worse. Soon the doctor arrived, and they tell me that the delivery went smoothly after that, but it still hurt _really bad_. Tai never complained once, though I'm sure there were a couple times that I almost broke his hand.

Anyway, I was relaxing after the fact, utterly exhausted, when the nurse came in with the baby. I recognized her as the same nurse who had taken away Tai's cell phone. She beamed at us as she handed me the little pink-wrapped bundle. "It's a girl!" she exclaimed. "And she's _adorable_." The nurse was right. Most babies are not cute right after they're born, but _my_ baby—_my_ baby was gorgeous. (I think all mothers think that, even if their babies really aren't cute.)

I looked up from her tiny little face. "Do you want to hold her, Tai?"

He hesitated. "Sure," he said, taking and holding her gently. "What name did you pick?"

"Hana."

I knew what he was thinking as he stared down into Hana's little face: _She looks so much like her mother. She's beautiful. She's amazing. She's perfect. And she's not mine._

"Congratulations!" the nurse beamed, oblivious to Tai's slight discomfort. "Is this your first one?"

Tai, still holding Hana, went red to the ears, and I chuckled.

"Well, uh, you see, we're not married," Tai stammered. The nurse's big blue eyes suddenly grew even larger.

"Oh," she murmured, and blushed slightly.

"Well, actually, _she's_ married, but I'm not. I mean—"

"What he's trying to say," I broke in before the nurse's cheeks could turn an even deeper shade of pink, "is that my husband is away right now and couldn't be here, so Tai brought me instead. We've been friends since we were little kids, and he didn't want to leave me alone. That's why he's here."

"Oh." The nurse seemed relieved.

"I was _trying_ to reach her husband, my best friend, when my _cell phone_ was _taken away from me,"_ Tai said pointedly as he gave Hana back to me.

The nurse giggled.

"Sorry," she said. "But a rule's a rule, and this one can't be broken, or people might get hurt." She looked over at me. "By the way, my name's Kirei Tomiki, and I'll be here all night if you need anything." She looked over at Tai. "I can bring in a chair or something if you don't want to leave her here alone overnight."

"Thanks, that'd be great. But first," he winked at the nurse, "I need to go down to the lobby to make some phone calls, since I can't use my cell phone!"

* * *

True to his word, Tai stayed there with me all night, sleeping in the chair beside my bed. Both of us were awakened in the early hours of the morning by Matt's unexpected arrival. 

"Sora!" he gasped breathlessly as he rushed into the room. "I'm so sorry! Are you all right? I _knew_ I shouldn't have gone to that training camp! This is all my fault!"

"Wha--?" Tai groaned, opening one eye drowsily. "Hmm. Oh, hey, Matt. _MATT!"_ Suddenly jerked awake, he leapt to his feet. "It's about time you got here. You missed all the action." Tai reached out and pumped Matt's hand. "Congratulations—you're a _dad!"_

"Yeah, so I hear." He turned warm eyes to me. "Are you doing all right?" he asked earnestly, taking my hand and sitting in the chair Tai had recently vacated.

"Yes, I'm fine, thanks to Tai. If it hadn't been for him, I don't think I'd have made it to the hospital!"

Matt raised his eyes to meet Tai's, and he nodded his thanks.

"Have you seen her yet?" I asked him.

Matt looked back at me and shook his head. "No. What's she like?"

"She's _beautiful."_

"Yeah," Tai cut in, giving us both a grin and a wink. "In other words, she took after her mom!" He stretched, then headed for the door. "I'll go find that nurse so you can see your little bundle of joy."

I watched him go, then turned back to Matt. "I'm glad you're here," I said, smiling.

"Me, too."

Of course, Matt thought little Hana was wonderful, too; he looked so proud, I thought he'd burst. Hana and I were released from the hospital the next morning, and Matt drove us home, tired but happy. I was so glad to have him back home. The only bad thing was, he only had that one day off--he had to go back to finish his astronaut training. At first he told me that he wasn't going to go back, but once again, I insisted that he go: I didn't want him to lose this chance to live his dream. And besides, I knew nothing more was going to happen, really.

Not yet, anyway.


End file.
